CN111787835A

CN111787835A - Dispenser

Info

Publication number: CN111787835A
Application number: CN201980016280.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: C·E·马哈菲
Original assignee: Kimberly Clark Worldwide Inc
Current assignee: Kimberly Clark Worldwide Inc; Kimberly Clark Corp
Priority date: 2018-03-30
Filing date: 2019-03-29
Publication date: 2020-10-16
Also published as: EP3773102A4; EP3773102A1; CO2020012982A2; KR102646307B1; US11849887B2; AU2019245399A1; WO2019191663A1; US20210015309A1; BR112020017420A2; CA3095063A1; KR20200127254A

Abstract

A dispenser for dispensing a consumable, the dispenser having a consumable holding area configured to store the consumable within the dispenser; a dispensing mechanism having a spindle configured to hold and rotate the consumable to facilitate a dispensing cycle to dispense a portion of the consumable; and a motor having a piezoelectric element configured to (i) frictionally couple to the spindle to rotate the spindle in a first direction during a first motor state, and (ii) decouple from the spindle to allow the spindle to freely rotate during a second motor state.

Description

Dispenser

This application claims priority from U.S. provisional patent application serial No. 62/650503, filed on 30/3/2018, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The present disclosure generally relates to dispensers for dispensing consumables.

Background

Systems for dispensing consumables are ubiquitous in many environments today. For example, paper towel dispensers are common in many private, semi-private and public washrooms, work areas, food processing stations and kitchens. Many such dispensers are automated or motorized because the dispenser delivers a length of paper to a user without the user having to manually pull the paper from the dispenser. However, some users prefer to pull paper out of the dispenser, and these motorized dispensers do not allow such manual pulling. It is desirable to enable motorized dispensers to dispense automatically and manually.

Disclosure of Invention

Generally, the subject matter of this specification relates to dispensers, for example, paper product dispensers, such as paper towel dispensers or toilet tissue dispensers. One aspect of the subject matter described in this specification can be embodied in a dispenser for dispensing consumable products, the dispenser comprising: a consumable holding area configured to store the consumable within the dispenser; a dispensing mechanism having a spindle configured to hold and rotate the consumable to facilitate a dispensing cycle to dispense a portion of the consumable; and a motor having a piezoelectric element configured to (i) frictionally couple to the spindle to rotate the spindle in a first direction during a first motor state, and (ii) decouple from the spindle to allow the spindle to freely rotate during a second motor state. Other embodiments of this aspect include corresponding methods, apparatus, and computer program products.

One aspect of the subject matter described in this specification can be embodied in a method that includes sensing a request to dispense the consumable; in response to sensing the request, instructing a motor having a piezoelectric element to enter a first motor state to frictionally couple the piezoelectric element to a spindle in the dispenser to rotate the spindle in a first direction; determining an end of the first motor state; and in response to determining the end, instructing the motor to enter a third motor state to frictionally couple the piezoelectric element to the spindle to resist rotation of the spindle. Other embodiments of this aspect include corresponding systems, apparatus, and computer program products.

Particular embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can be implemented to realize one or more of the following advantages. For example, conventional electronic (also referred to as motorized) dispensers do not allow a user to manually grasp the tail of a paper product emerging from the dispenser and pull the paper product out because the motor is not energized and is prevented from rotating, thereby preventing manual pulling. The dispensers described herein use a piezoelectric motor that can be configured to allow free rotation (e.g., low resistance rotation or no resistance rotation). This allows a user to manually pull out a length of paper towel, for example when the dispenser is not powered, for example when the batteries of the dispenser are depleted or when the user simply wishes to manually pull, while still allowing fully motorized dispensing without having to reconfigure the dispenser. In addition, piezoelectric motors are generally more energy efficient than brushed dc motors used in conventional dispensers. In addition, the piezoelectric motor has a smaller form factor than such a dc motor, which provides flexibility to allow the dispenser designer to place the piezoelectric motor in the dispenser with flexibility and make the overall dispenser smaller.

The dispensers described herein may also enable a specific amount of rolled paper product to be dispensed (e.g., by a motorized dispensing cycle or by manual pulling by a user), and the motor, through its piezoelectric element, may then prevent the rolled paper product from further unwinding, such as by engaging and locking a spindle on which the rolled paper product is supported or a roller through which the product is conveyed, to tear the sheet of rolled paper product after the specific amount of product is dispensed. This provides for partially controlled use of the rolled paper product by allowing only a certain amount of product to be dispensed during a cycle, as opposed to the user being able to dispense too much product wastefully and unnecessarily deplete the dispenser.

The details of one or more implementations of the subject matter described in this specification are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter will become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims.

Drawings

FIG. 1A is a right side cross-sectional view of a first exemplary product dispenser.

FIG. 1B is a right side cross-sectional view of a second exemplary product dispenser.

FIG. 1C is a detailed representation of an exemplary piezoelectric element and spindle.

Fig. 2A is a first representation of a portion of a first exemplary motor.

FIG. 2B is a second representation of a portion of the first exemplary motor.

Fig. 2C is a third representation of a portion of the first exemplary motor.

FIG. 2D is a fourth representation of a portion of the first exemplary motor.

Fig. 3A is a first representation of a portion of a second exemplary motor.

FIG. 3B is a second representation of a portion of a second exemplary motor.

FIG. 3C is a third representation of a portion of a second exemplary motor.

Fig. 4 is an exemplary process of operating a dispenser.

Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification and drawings is intended to represent same or analogous features or elements of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

The present disclosure relates to a dispenser utilizing a piezoelectric motor. For example, a rolled tissue dispenser or a toilet paper dispenser may have a piezoelectric motor that may be configured to operate in a variety of states to allow for customized dispensing operations not typically found on conventional dispensers. In some embodiments, the motor may be configured to dispense a specified amount of the rolled paper product and still allow the user to manually pull additional paper product from the roll after the automatic dispensing cycle to achieve the user desired product amount.

In other embodiments, the motor may be configured to dispense a specified amount of the rolled paper product and then lock the spool, or otherwise prevent the spool from rotating, such that a user cannot manually pull additional product from the spool after the specified amount of paper has been dispensed, for example, until after a certain time. In other embodiments, the motor may be configured to rotate freely to allow a user to manually pull product from the roll and then change state to prevent further rotation of the roll, thereby limiting the amount of product that the user may dispense. In the latter case, since the motor does not drive the roll to dispense product, this provides an effective way of dispensing product while still limiting excessive and wasteful use of product.

A dispenser having one or more of these functions is described in more detail below with reference to fig. 1 and 1B, with fig. 1 being a right side sectional view of an exemplary product dispenser 100 and fig. 1B being a right side sectional view of a second exemplary product dispenser.

The dispenser 100 may be, for example, a towel dispenser 100, a toilet tissue dispenser 100, or another roll product dispenser, such as a wipes dispenser. More generally, the dispenser 100 is a device that holds a rolled consumable and dispenses the consumable in response to a stimulus (e.g., a user approaching the stimulus or a user pulling), at least in part by a motorized process that includes preventing dispensing. The dispenser 100 includes a body 104 or an outer cover or housing 104, such as a composite housing, a polymer housing, or a metal housing. The outer cover 104 completely or partially encloses the product retention area 102 or interior 102 of the dispenser 100. The product holding area 102 contains, for example, a product 105 (e.g., a tissue, toilet tissue, wipe/wipe, etc.) to be dispensed by the dispenser 100 and contains one or more electrical or mechanical components for initiating the dispensing process, such as a motor, battery, rollers, sensors to determine when a user requests a dispense, etc., as described in more detail below.

In some embodiments, the dispenser 100 includes a processing device or apparatus 118. Alternatively, if the processing device/apparatus 118 is remote from the dispenser 100, the dispenser may include a transceiver to wirelessly communicate with the processing device 118. The dispenser 100 may be located, for example, in a private, semi-private, or public washroom, restroom or kitchen, or clean room or other workstation area.

The dispenser 100 also includes a dispensing mechanism 110. Dispensing mechanism 110 operates to dispense a portion of consumable 105 from holding area 102 (e.g., dispense a length of roll paper 105 for hand drying). In some embodiments, for example, for rolled paper towels or wipes or toilet tissue, the dispensing mechanism 110 is an electromechanical feed mechanism including or operating in conjunction with a motor 119 that feeds a length of roll paper 105 through an opening 123 in the body 104 for presentation to a user in response to a stimulus such as the user waving his hand near the dispenser 100. For example, dispensing mechanism 110 may include one or more rollers 122 through which a portion of roll paper 105 is fed such that when dispensing mechanism 110 is actuated, it pulls and unwinds roll paper 105 (or causes roll paper 105 to be pulled and unwound) to feed a portion of roll paper 105 to a user. For example, the roller 122 may include a knife or other cutting mechanism (e.g., a spring-loaded mechanism) that cuts or perforates the paper 105 at the end of the dispenser 100 to enable a user to easily tear the cut paper from the remainder of the roll paper 105.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 1A, a motor 119 may be integral with or proximate to the roll paper holder 106 and rotate the spindle 109 (e.g., with the roll paper product 105 mounted thereon) to unwind and dispense the roll paper 105. In other embodiments, as shown in fig. 1B, motor 119 may be adjacent to or integral with roller 122 and cause roller 122 to rotate, thereby withdrawing product from web 105 and dispensing it through opening 123. The motor 119 is described in more detail below with reference to fig. 1C and fig. 2A to 3C.

The motor 119 includes a piezoelectric element 125. The piezoelectric element 125 is a material that changes shape in response to application of an electrical potential (e.g., a voltage) across the material. For example, micromoo Inc (Clearwater, Florida) markets piezoelectric element-based motors, including Piezo leds motors.

In some embodiments, motor 119 may directly engage spindle 109 (as shown in fig. 1C) or a side or end portion of roller 122 through its element 125, or indirectly engage these

devices

109, 122 through gears or other intermediate components, to rotate web 105 to dispense product.

Fig. 2A-2D are representations of portions of the first exemplary motor 119 from the perspective 172 of fig. 1C. In this embodiment, fig. 2A shows a motor 119 including two sets of

piezoelectric elements

125a and 125b, and shows spindle 109. Each group 125a, b may include one or more elements 125. The motor 119 may energize both sets of elements 125 individually (or together) (e.g., applying a voltage across both sets of elements), such that the motor 119 may energize only element 125a or only element 125b, or may energize both sets of elements 125a, b simultaneously. Fig. 2A shows the piezoelectric element 125 (and motor 119) in a second motor state, in which the element 125 is decoupled or not engaged with the spindle 109. In some embodiments, when no power is applied to the motor 119, the motor 119 is in the second state. Further, in some embodiments, the second motor state may include (i) no power being applied to motor 119, and (ii) some power being applied to motor 119, but insufficient to cause element 125 to engage and rotate (or hold) spindle 109. During the second motor state, the spindle 109 (and thus the roll paper 105) can rotate/spin freely, which would occur if the user manually pulled the tail of the roll paper 105 through the opening 123.

Fig. 2B shows motor 119 energizing element 125B, which extends element 125B upward and rightward from their rest state in fig. 2A to engage and push/rotate spindle 109 in a first (e.g., clockwise) direction 131 about spindle longitudinal axis 170. Motor 119 does not energize element 125a in fig. 2B.

Fig. 2C shows motor 119 energizing elements 125a, which extends elements 125a upward and rightward from their rest state in fig. 2A to engage and push/rotate spindle 109 in clockwise direction 131. The motor 119 does not energize the elements 125B in fig. 2C, which causes the elements 125B to retract from their energized state in fig. 2B to a resting state (e.g., shown in fig. 2A). When oscillating (alternating) between energizing

elements

125a and 125b, motor 119 is in a first motor state, which causes spindle 109 to continuously rotate.

Fig. 2D shows motor 119 in a third motor state having two elements 125a, b that frictionally couple (e.g., engage) spindle 109 to resist rotation of spindle 109. Frictional engagement means that one or more elements 125 are in physical contact with spindle 109 (or roller 122) and exert sufficient force on spindle 109 (or roller 122) to use friction at the point of contact to allow movement of the elements to correspondingly push (e.g., rotate) spindle 109 (or roller 122) in a first motor state and resist rotation in a third motor state. In some embodiments, such frictional engagement may include some (but not all) slippage between element 125 and spindle 109 (or roller 122) such that not all of the power (or resistance) of element 125 is transferred to spindle 109 (or roller 122). In some embodiments, the third motor state includes only one set of elements 125a or b engaged with spindle 109 to resist rotation.

In some embodiments, motor 109 is a generally free motor such that when it is not powered, element 125 is not energized and does not engage spindle 109. In this case, the third motor state occurs with the elements 125a, b energized (e.g., in a constant extended state).

Although one type of element 125 is described with reference to fig. 2, the motor 119 may be configured with other types of elements 125, for example, as described with reference to fig. 3A-3C. Fig. 3A is a first representation of a portion of a second exemplary motor 119, fig. 3B is a second representation of a portion of the second exemplary motor 119, and fig. 3C is a third representation of a portion of the second exemplary motor 119. Similar to element 125 in fig. 1C (and from the same perspective 172), element 125 in fig. 3 is positioned toward the periphery of spindle 109 (or roller 122), e.g., off axis 170. In operation, motor 119 energizes element 125 to extend element 125, as shown in FIG. 3B. This stretching causes element 125 to frictionally engage spindle 109, thereby causing spindle 109 to rotate about its axis 170 (and thus roller 105). Next, motor 119 de-energizes element 125 (e.g., removes or reduces the voltage on element 125), causing element 125 to retract, as shown in FIG. 3C. During this retraction phase, the distal end of element 125, i.e., the end in contact with spindle 109, is deformed or otherwise allowed to slide rearward without sufficient friction against spindle 109 to cause rotation or only minimal rotation (e.g., less than that caused by extension in fig. 3B). In other words, during the retraction phase, element 125 is not frictionally engaged to spindle 109. Repeating this stretching and retracting process enables the roll paper 105 to be unwound.

As mentioned above, the dispenser 100 may be a rolled tissue dispenser 100. Some such dispensers include a dispensing sensor (not shown) near opening 123 or otherwise located on the front cover of dispenser 100. The sensor may be, for example, a thermal sensor, a motion sensor, a proximity sensor (e.g., an infrared sensor), etc., to detect the presence of a user in relatively close proximity to the dispenser 100. In response to detecting a user (e.g., a user's hand near opening 123), the sensor generates a trigger signal that actuates motor 119 to begin dispensing, thereby rotating spindle 109 (or roller 122) to unwind a portion of roll paper 105 and present a length of paper through opening 123 for use by the user.

In some embodiments, the operational states of the motor 119, such as the first state, the second state, and the third state, may be further described with reference to the exemplary paper towel dispenser 100. For example, in response to a trigger signal from a sensor, motor 119 enters a first motor state to rotate spindle 109 by energizing element 125. The first motor state may last for a dispensing cycle, which is a predetermined period of time (e.g., 2 seconds), or until a predetermined length of paper towel (e.g., 8 inches) is dispensed. After the dispense cycle, the first motor state ends. The dispenser 100 may have a continuous first motor state, which may occur, for example, if the user wants more towels after the first dispensing and triggers the sensor immediately after the previous dispensing cycle.

After the first motor state, the motor 119 may enter a second motor state, which may be a default motor state of the dispenser 100 during a time period when the motor 109 is not activated for a dispense cycle. For example, after the user starts the dispensing cycle and dries his/her hands, motor 119 enters a second motor state during which element 125 is not engaged to spindle 109, which allows spindle 109 and roll paper 105 to rotate freely. In addition to being in a stationary state for motor 119, the second motor state also allows the user to manually pull the exposed tail of roll paper 105 to unwind roll paper 105 during manual dispensing, i.e., during dispensing when motor 109 is not activated. For example, without triggering the sensor, if the user wants additional paper towels, the user can unwind the roll of paper 105 until the desired length of paper is dispensed. Furthermore, if the motor 119 does not receive power, e.g., the motor's battery is dead, the user may still obtain paper towels from the dispenser 100, which conventional motorized dispensers cannot.

The operation of the dispenser 100 may also be described with reference to the toilet paper dispenser 100 and fig. 4, fig. 4 being an exemplary process 400 of operating the dispenser 100. For example, many conventional toilet paper dispensers are not motorized and do not limit the amount of toilet paper a user can pull at one time (as many users use too many paper towels, which prematurely depletes the dispenser, resulting in higher costs to the homeowner in additional toilet paper and requiring more restroom service calls to refill the dispenser 100). As described below, the dispenser 100 can address both of these deficiencies.

An allocation request is sensed (402). For example, a proximity sensor of the dispenser 100 senses a user (e.g., a user's hand) in close proximity to (the opening 123) of the dispenser 100, indicating that the user is requesting dispensing.

In response to the request, the motor is instructed to enter a first motor state (404). For example, dispenser 100 places motor 119 into a first motor state to rotate spindle 109 to dispense toilet paper to a user. During the first motor state, motor 119 energizes element 125 to rotate spindle 109.

The end of the first motor state is determined (406). For example, the dispenser 100 determines the end of the first motor state based on the expiration of (i) a time period from the time the motor 109 entered the first motor state, (ii) the number of rotations of the roll paper 105, or (iii) the length of the dispensed paper 105 ("trigger event") specified by the administrator. These triggering events are intended to prevent the user from unrolling an unlimited amount of toilet paper, which places excessive and wasteful use of the product 105 and premature depletion of the dispenser 100.

In response to determining the end of the first motor state, the motor is instructed to enter a third motor state (408). For example, in response to the dispenser 100 determining the end of the first motor state, the dispenser 100 instructs the motor 109 to enter a third motor state, which causes the member 125 to prevent or inhibit the spindle 109 from rotating and, therefore, the roll paper 105 from unwinding further. This has the effect of, for example, limiting the amount of toilet paper that a user can remove from the dispenser 100-if the user continues to pull, but the motor 119 prevents the roll paper 105 from unrolling, the paper held by the user will break/tear from the rest of the roll paper 105. This avoids excessive and wasteful use of product 105.

In some embodiments, after step 408 (e.g., 3 or 5 seconds after the motor 119 enters the third motor state), the dispenser 100 may reset to step 402 to allow the user to obtain additional products 105 as desired. User use of the product 105 may be mitigated as the user must repeatedly go through a cycle of retrieving more product 105 rather than being able to deploy most of the product at once (as would be possible without the process 400). Although the process 400 has been described in the context of a toilet paper dispenser 100, it is also applicable to other types of roll product dispensers 100.

In some embodiments, the dispenser 100 does not enter the first motor state (step 402), but defaults to and is in the second motor state, allowing the user to manually pull the towel from the dispenser 100. For example, if the dispenser 100 is configured not to automatically dispense the product 105 and/or does not have a sensor to detect a user dispense request, the motor 119 may default to the second motor state. Thus, after the user begins to pull product from the roll of paper 105 (which rotates the spindle 109), the dispenser 100 detects such rotation, for example, by an optical sensor or a wheel sensor, and after a specified triggering event instructs the motor 119 to enter a third motor state (e.g., step 408) to mitigate use of the product 105.

Detailed description of the preferred embodiments

Embodiment 1. a dispenser for dispensing a consumable, the dispenser having a consumable holding area configured to store the consumable within the dispenser; a dispensing mechanism having a spindle configured to hold and rotate the consumable to facilitate a dispensing cycle to dispense a portion of the consumable; and a motor having a piezoelectric element configured to (i) frictionally couple to the spindle to rotate the spindle in a first direction during a first motor state, and (ii) decouple from the spindle to allow the spindle to freely rotate during a second motor state.

Embodiment 2. the dispenser of embodiment 1, wherein the first motor state occurs with power applied to the motor.

The dispenser of any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the second motor state occurs without power being applied to the motor.

Embodiment 4. the dispenser of any of the preceding embodiments, wherein the dispenser is a roll-up towel dispenser.

Embodiment 5. the dispenser of any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the piezoelectric element is configured to frictionally couple to the spindle to resist rotation of the spindle during a third motor state.

Embodiment 6 the dispenser of embodiment 5, wherein the third motor state occurs with power applied to the motor.

Embodiment 7 the dispenser of embodiment 6, wherein the dispenser is a toilet paper dispenser.

An embodiment 8. a dispenser for dispensing a consumable, the dispenser comprising a consumable holding area configured to store the consumable within the dispenser; a dispensing mechanism having a spindle configured to hold and rotate the consumable to facilitate a dispensing cycle to dispense a portion of the consumable; and a motor having a piezoelectric element configured to (i) frictionally couple to the spindle to rotate the spindle in a first direction during a first motor state, and (ii) frictionally couple to the spindle to resist rotation of the spindle during a fourth motor state.

Embodiment 9 the dispenser of embodiment 8, wherein the first motor state occurs with power applied to the motor.

Embodiment 10 the method of embodiment 8, wherein the fourth motor state occurs without power being applied to the motor.

Embodiment 11. a method of dispensing a consumable from a dispenser, comprising: sensing a request to dispense the consumable; in response to sensing the request, instructing a motor having a piezoelectric element to enter a first motor state to frictionally couple the piezoelectric element to a spindle in the dispenser to rotate the spindle in a first direction; determining an end of the first motor state; and in response to determining the end, instructing the motor to enter a third motor state to frictionally couple the piezoelectric element to the spindle to resist rotation of the spindle.

Embodiment 12 the method of embodiment 11, wherein determining the end of the first motor state comprises determining a number of revolutions of the spindle.

Embodiment 13 the method of embodiment 11, wherein determining the end of the first motor state comprises determining an elapse of a time period from an actuation of the motor proximate to the command.

Embodiment 14 the method of any one of embodiments 11-13, wherein the dispenser is a toilet paper dispenser.

Embodiment 15 the method of embodiments 11-14, wherein the third motor state occurs with power applied to the motor.

Embodiments of the subject matter and the operations described in this specification can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including the structures disclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents, or in combinations of one or more of them. Embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can be implemented as one or more computer programs, i.e., one or more modules of computer program instructions, encoded on a computer storage medium for execution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus. Alternatively or in addition, the program instructions may be encoded on an artificially generated propagated signal, e.g., a machine-generated electrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal, that is generated to encode information for transmission to suitable receiver apparatus for execution by a data processing apparatus.

The computer storage medium may be, or be included in, a computer-readable storage device, a computer-readable storage substrate, a random or serial access memory array or device, or a combination of one or more of them. Furthermore, although a computer storage medium is not a propagated signal, a computer storage medium can be a source or destination of computer program instructions encoded in an artificially generated propagated signal. The computer storage medium may also be, or be embodied in, one or more separate physical components or media (e.g., multiple CDs, disks, or other storage devices). The operations described in this specification may be implemented as operations performed by a data processing apparatus on data stored on one or more computer-readable storage devices or received from other sources.

The term "data processing apparatus" encompasses all kinds of apparatus, devices, and machines for processing data, including by way of example a programmable processor, a computer, a system on a chip, or multiple ones, or combinations, of the foregoing. An apparatus can comprise special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). The apparatus can include, in addition to hardware, code that creates an execution environment for the computer program in question, e.g., code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a database management system, an operating system, a cross-platform runtime environment, a virtual machine, or a combination of one or more of them. The devices and execution environments may implement a variety of different computing model infrastructures, such as web services, distributed computing, and grid computing infrastructures.

A computer program (also known as a program, software application, script, or code) can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, declarative or procedural languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, object, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program may, but need not, correspond to a file in a file system. A program can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markup language document), in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or in multiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules, sub programs, or portions of code). A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are located at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.

The processes and logic flows described in this specification can be performed by one or more programmable processors executing one or more computer programs to perform actions by operating on input data and generating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performed by, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit).

Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, by way of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, a processor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer are a processor for performing actions in accordance with instructions, and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g., magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks. However, the computer need not have such devices. Moreover, a computer may also be embedded in another device, e.g., a mobile telephone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a mobile audio or video player, a game console, a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, or a portable storage device (e.g., a Universal Serial Bus (USB) flash drive), to name a few. Suitable means for storing computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, media and memory devices, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

Embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can be implemented in a computing system that includes a back end component (e.g., as a data server), or that includes a middleware component (e.g., an application server), or that includes a front end component (e.g., a client computer having a graphical user interface or a Web browser through which a user can interact with an embodiment of the subject matter described in this specification), or any combination of one or more such back end, middleware, or front end components. The components of the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digital data communication (e.g., a communication network). Examples of communication networks include local area networks ("LANs") and wide area networks ("WANs"), interconnected networks (e.g., the internet), and peer-to-peer networks (e.g., ad hoc peer-to-peer networks).

The computing system may include clients and servers. A client and server are generally remote from each other and typically interact through a communication network. The relationship of client and server arises by virtue of computer programs running on the respective computers and having a client-server relationship to each other. In some embodiments, the server transmits data (e.g., HTML pages) to the user's computer (e.g., for displaying data to the user and receiving user input from the user interacting with the user's computer). Data generated at the user computer (e.g., the result of the user interaction) may be received at the server from the user computer.

While this specification contains many specific implementation details, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of any invention or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particular embodiments of particular inventions. Certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Furthermore, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various system components in the embodiments described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should be understood that the described program components and systems can generally be integrated within a single software product or packaged into multiple software products.

This written description does not limit the invention to the precise terms set forth. Thus, while the invention has been described in detail with reference to the above examples, those skilled in the art may effect alterations, modifications and variations to these examples without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A dispenser for dispensing a consumable comprising:

a consumable holding area configured to store the consumable within the dispenser;

a dispensing mechanism having a spindle configured to hold and rotate the consumable to facilitate a dispensing cycle to dispense a portion of the consumable; and

a motor having a piezoelectric element configured to (i) frictionally couple to the spindle to rotate the spindle in a first direction during a first motor state, and (ii) decouple from the spindle to allow the spindle to freely rotate during a second motor state.

2. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein the first motor state occurs with power applied to the motor.

3. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein the second motor state occurs without power being applied to the motor.

4. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein the dispenser is a roll-up towel dispenser.

5. The dispenser of claim 1, wherein the piezoelectric element is configured to frictionally couple to the spindle to resist rotation of the spindle during a third motor state.

6. The dispenser of claim 5, wherein the third motor state occurs with power applied to the motor.

7. The dispenser of claim 6, wherein the dispenser is a toilet paper dispenser.

8. A dispenser for dispensing a consumable comprising:

a motor having a piezoelectric element configured to (i) frictionally couple to the spindle to rotate the spindle in a first direction during a first motor state, and (ii) frictionally couple to the spindle to resist rotation of the spindle during a third motor state.

9. The dispenser of claim 8, wherein the first motor state occurs with power applied to the motor.

10. The dispenser of claim 9, wherein the third motor state occurs with power applied to the motor.

11. A method of dispensing a consumable from a dispenser, comprising:

sensing a request to dispense the consumable;

in response to sensing the request, instructing a motor having a piezoelectric element to enter a first motor state to frictionally couple the piezoelectric element to a spindle in the dispenser to rotate the spindle in a first direction;

determining an end of the first motor state; and

in response to determining the end, instructing the motor to enter a third motor state to frictionally couple the piezoelectric element to the spindle to resist rotation of the spindle.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein determining the end of the first motor state comprises determining a number of revolutions of the spindle.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein determining the end of the first motor state comprises determining an elapse of a time period from proximate the indicated motor actuation.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the dispenser is a toilet paper dispenser.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the third motor state occurs with power applied to the motor.